by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Eric Henry and Tom Sineath of TS Designs, the Burlington-based, leading sustainable t-shirt printers – just might be crazy. In 1993, after quickly moving up the ladder of the shirt/printing business, the passage of NAFTA killed their business pretty much overnight. Meeting crisis with opportunity, they reinvented their business along triple-bottom line principles.

Tom and Eric were ahead of the curve when they tapped into and comitted to the triple-bottom-line business model and focused on three equally important bottom lines: People, the Planet, and Profits.

“Armed with their new business model and a healthy amount of crazy, Tom and Eric sought to align themselves with, and cater to, a then-fringe group of radical, leftist wackos: The Green Movement…Today, TS Designs still sells largely to the now-mainstream group of radical wackos that is The Green Movement, but also prints for any organization looking for a better quality product with a better environmental and social impact.”

But this was just the beginning. They also developed a visionary mission statement that translates like this:

“Our vision is to transform the world we live in, both in small and large measures alike. Creating economic, ecological, and social prosperity while ensuring that future generations have the same opportunity. We  envision a world where no harmful chemicals are produced, worn, or discarded.”

What sounded like a daunting proposition moved forward at warp speed while Tom and Eric began greening anything and everything at the facility, including hot composting, solar and wind power, innovative water conservation systems to green houses, bee hives, biodiesel production  – and more! Click here to take a quickie virtual tour – it’s quite a ride.

Their dye and print process veers far from the traditional toxic silkscreening while enhancing both form and function. These and other programs also nurture employee well-being.

I’ve seen the plant and met the owners. Eric’s impressive enthusiasm is contagious and inexhaustible and soon his good green, employee friendly shirts and facility wasn’t enough. Fully aware that organic was only one of several solutions, Eric decided he wanted pursue local  – I mean LOCAL in capital letters. So he created a program that became Cotton of the Carolinas – a collaboration of farmers and manufacturers in NC with 3 main objectives: support of local economies, low transportation footpring and complete product transparency. They’re dedicated to selling them here too. The first two crops of ’08 and ’09, will be available for purchase only in North and South Carolina. Go here for more information.

When someone asks Tom Sineath what’s the most sustainable kind of t-shirt to buy, his answer is not to buy one  at all, fully recognizing that, as things stand now, there is no genuinely sustainable way to make and market a new shirt. When that day comes it will be because of people like Eric and Tom and their crew at TS Designs.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.